Synopsis: What if you woke up in a strange place and didn’t know who you were?

A woman wakes up in a Thai hospital unaware of how she got there or who she is. The doctor names her Kai, the Thai word for fever.

Unable to recall what led her to end up at the bottom of a cliff, Kai’s only clue to her identity is a diary. Stuck in a foreign land with no memory, she begins to unpick the truth about her past. And she will discover who she is and why she is in danger… This is Kai’s story

Ash's Rating: 5/5

Ash Review: Forgotten is the first book in several months that has made me stay awake reading passed a sensible time. That is no small feat now that a small child has resulted in my urge for sleep finally overtaking my urge to read all night!

Forgotten centres around a woman who awakens in a Thai hospital with no memory of how she got there or who she is. “Kai” our narrator is as much in the dark as the reader is as she tries to unravel the events leading up to her fall from an isolated cliff.

Kai is helped in her quest to unlock her memories by Dr Ekachai, the medic in charge of her care, Ellen, a psychotherapist and her new friend Mark. Kai is not sure if she can trust any of them and its hard to disagree with her. Kai also has her diary in which she confronts her previous self, a woman travelling alone whilst trying to rebuild her confidence and move on from her past.

I found myself rooting for Kai from the first chapter and equally as eager to uncover the secrets contained in her diary as she is. The diary excerpts feel very authentic to the point that I felt uncomfortably like I was reading someone else’s diary. Additionally the detail with which the places Kai visited prior to her accident are described is rich allowing the reader to envision these places as Kai travels through them.

Hammersley captures the escalating mood of paranoia and distrust which Kai experiences very effectively and the other abusive mystery narrator is unnervingly authentic to read. The pace of the book feels exactly right and the narrative cruises towards its pinnacle perfectly. The chapters are short and the plot not overly complex so it is a book which you can devour with ease.

Forgotten is Hammersley’s debut novel and I have no doubt that it will be the first of many successful novels for her. I cannot wait to read her next book already. If I were to recommend to you one new book to buy and read on your next holiday, this would be it.